RJ Chesney has deep roots in the American South, having grown up in
Macon, Georgia and Biloxi Mississippi. His voice is deep and sonorous
with a twang. Folk , blues, country, and gospel breathe in and inspire
his songs. RJ evokes Hank Williams Sr. meets John Prine with a little
Townes Van Zandt thrown in.
RJ has toured America and Europe and has earned a very loyal following.
This year alone RJ toured Norway ( for a 4th time ) and England ( for a 2nd time) and most recently toured the big island of Hawaii in April of 2024.
RJ is very excited to tour to Canada for the first time , a place that spawned so many of his singer songwriter influences , especially Leonard Cohen .
RJ’s second album, Angels
Falling, was released in 2015 to rave reviews. including this quote
by Terry Roland in No Depression magazine – ” If these songs were
paintings, they would be Andrew Wyeth’s starkly beautiful American
landscape work. These songs are landscapes of the soul.” …
In 2019
RJ released his third album, Amateur Revolution, a collaboration with
notable Norwegian Producer-Composer HP Gunderesen and Los Angeles
Producer Jason Hiller. Amateur Revolution features great musicians
from both the Los Angeles, California and Bergen, Norway music
scenes. The album was widely praised in the USA and throughout Europe
. . Including
Paul Kerr from AmericanaUK – ‘Amateur Revolution’ is not
going to be the most polished album to grace the decks this month.
It’s all the better for that as the loose-limbed feel here runs
throughout the 12 songs gathered, the sort of feel that one associates
with The Basement Tapes or Doug Sahm, just a bunch of musicians having
some great fun performing some great songs
and
Paul Jackson – Fatea
Records UK- “Country music is a very broad church these days,
particularly when you think of acts like Chris Stapleton and Sturgill
Simpson, so it’s great to get others coming along to push the
boundaries further.
Solid songs, great performances from the band and crisp production
make Amateur Revolution a fine record indeed.”
and from Music Morsels –
“I have often wondered what Hank Williams Sr’s songs would have
sounded like if he were alive today. L.A. (by way of Macon and Biloxi)
songsmith RJ Chesney channels those types of roots with his latest
release. Vocally, it has a bit less twang and more grit than Hank, and
the songs ,while strongly retro, have an earthy depth to them giving
them a subtle modern kick. The lyrics tend to be introspective and
occasionally dark with a touch of humor in the right places. With
excellent production from highly-regarded Norwegian producer H.P.
Gunderson, this music just feels like it came from the formative years
of country and that is a very good thing these days.”
If you love true roots music, that stirs your soul deep inside, you’ll
be a fan of RJ too!